MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - A Milwaukee-area man
was taken into custody on Wednesday in connection with the deaths of two
women whose bodies were found in separate suitcases along a rural road
earlier this month, authorities said.

Steven Zelich, 52, of West Allis, just south of Milwaukee, was
taken into custody three weeks after the suitcases were found in a
grassy ditch, Town of Geneva Police Chief Steven Hurley said in a
statement.

Police were conducting a search on Wednesday of Zelich's apartment
in West Allis, authorities said.

One of the victims was identified as Laura Simonson, 37, of
Farmington, Minnesota, who was reported missing in November, Hurley
said. The other woman has yet to be identified, he said.

The suitcases were moved out of the ditch by a highway department
crew that was cutting grass on June 5 in the town, which is 50 miles
(80 km) southwest of Milwaukee, police said.